Harris et al examined three programs in Chicago, New York City/Livingston, NJ, and Sacramento, Calif. from October 2014 to September 2017. These programs partnered with community-based organizations, as well as medical clinics and public health departments to test for HBV and facilitate linkage to care.

Overall, these programs had 10,152 non-U.S. born participants, 7.5% of whom were positive for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). The patients' median age was 40, a little less than half were women, and 80% were Asian. About a third reported China as their country of origin, followed by Vietnam (16%), Myanmar (8%), and Taiwan (7%).

Of the 757 patients who tested positive for HBsAg, 18% were prescribed antiviral treatment, and 14% of the 273 household contacts of HBsAg-positive patients tested positive themselves. The authors noted that according to other research in Hepatology, this is higher than the 0.3% in the general population. In addition, in the examined programs, 74% of susceptible household contacts received at least one dose of HBV vaccine.

Harris and colleagues documented how these programs worked, using "targeted public health interventions" that included partnerships with public health, community-based organizations, and health centers. The team also assessed various electronic medical record (EMR)-based strategies used by these programs. These included using prompts to identify high-risk populations, including HBV order testing sets and developing an algorithm to recommend testing for certain populations, and "monthly EMR querying of HBsAg-positive patients to identify those not currently in care."

In addition, the researchers pointed to the key role of patient navigators in these efforts, similar to a strategy outlined by the Asian Health Coalition; the navigators received training about a variety of aspects of patient care, such as HBV disease effects, scheduling medical appointments, and guiding patients through health systems.

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